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But on this occasion he was lucky -
even managing to photograph one cheeky chap as he hitched a ride on his
mother's back through a shallow stream.

Brian, 46, said: 'I get up early in the morning and make the one hour drive to the park to see if I can find some bears to photograph.

'June seems to be the best time to
see the little cubs so I work hard during this month to find and
photograph them. It's always a treat to see the small ones with their
mothers. She teaches them ways to find food and keeps a very good
watch over them.

'They will often take naps in trees during the heat of the day. As soon as their naps are over they start playing, which is fun to watch.

Hitchhiking: A black bear mother carries her cub through shallow water in The Great Smoky Mountains national park in eastern Tennessee

Tree-mendous nap! One cub falls asleep in between two branches while another snuggles up to keep warm

'The mother bears will watch over her
cubs for about 18 months then she will send them out on their own to
fend for themselves.'

He added: 'I have been photographing
the bears for seven years now and it still feels great when I know I got
a good shot because their colour makes them very difficult to
photograph.'

The black bear is native to North
America and is the continent's smallest and most common bear species.
These animals are omnivores and their diets differ greatly depending on
season and location but it is thought that up to 85 per cent of the
black bear's diet consists of vegetation. They are also famously fond of
honey and salmon and they have been known to kill large prey such as
deer and moose.